TimeMachine is hourly ?

[aicul]

It was my understanding that timemachine runs every hour.

But I notice every morning that timemachine has not run for several consecutive hours (see picture).

and after 1 hour...

I wonder if this is correct (maybe it is) ??

I understand I did not use my iMac for those hours, but as I do a FULL disk backup, should timemachine not indicate the last backup was done 1 hour ago ?

Or is this something to do with preferences ?

Any knowledgeable insight welcome.

 

[Nermal]

Does it still say "Stopping Backup"? If so, then it seems to have gotten stuck. Restart the computer and it should come right again.

 

[aicul]

Does it still say "Stopping Backup"? If so, then it seems to have gotten stuck. Restart the computer and it should come right again.

Hi, what the image showed is a miss-leader, I uploaded a second picture (in original question), the fact that TimeMachine was stopping was because I stopped it to take a picture this morning. It started as soon as I woke the computer ...

... maybe ... is the cause computer sleep ?

What I am actually looking for is an answer on what TimeMachine should do, not what we all can generally see.

Thanks for your feed back

 

[Nermal]

It can't do a backup if it's asleep, but it should still be doing backups as you're using the system. If you select "Open Time Machine Preferences" then you'll be able to see when the next backup is scheduled for. Just make sure that the computer is still running then and it should start the backup.

 

[aicul]

It can't do a backup if it's asleep

Ok... I sort of understand that.

But what is the use of the iMac immediately launching a backup on machine wake ?

I mean, my baseline common sense is that if there is not activity during sleep, there is no need to do a backup immediately after wakeup because I have had no time to do anything ?

plus it just makes for a sluggish iMac on wake..

 

[Nermal]

I'm not sure exactly what happens after sleep; I use Time Machine as a "set and forget"-type thing so I don't actually pay attention to when it backs up. If you haven't made any major changes then the backup should only take a few seconds, although admittedly I'm using an internal drive so it's always nice and speedy anyway.

 

[ElectricSheep]

Time Machine does check hourly. The reported "Latest Time Capsule Backup" reflects the last time that a snapshot was generated.

Time Machine utilizes the FSEvents API to track changes to the filesystem. These changes are checked hourly, and if a snapshot is required one is generated. Only the files and folders which have changed are copied to the new snapshot with all existing unchanged files and folders being hardlinked in. If there are no changes to be backed up, Time Machine does nothing and waits to check again in the next hour. The "Latest Time Capsule Backup" time will not be updated, because no snapshot was generated.

 

[aicul]

Time Machine does check hourly. The reported "Latest Time Capsule Backup" reflects the last time that a snapshot was generated.

Time Machine utilizes the FSEvents API to track changes to the filesystem. These changes are checked hourly, and if a snapshot is required one is generated. Only the files and folders which have changed are copied to the new snapshot with all existing unchanged files and folders being hardlinked in. If there are no changes to be backed up, Time Machine does nothing and waits to check again in the next hour. The "Latest Time Capsule Backup" time will not be updated, because no snapshot was generated.

Thanks for the enlightened response.

What has me confused is that;

- my TM is set to backup everything
- I understand that osx does maintenance jobs towards 0200
- there are incoming emails
- there are other calendar triggered events
- there are iMessages

=> how is it that these other events do not generate changes in the file system; hence a new snapshot

 

[ammusk]

If you haven't fixed this problem:

Search for com.apple.backupd in the console. Should help debug this.

/Applications/Utilities/Console.app

 

[satcomer]

Also look, at TimeMachineEditor and to see what Time Machine is doing get the Dashboard app Time Machine Buddy.

 

[Bear]

Thanks for the enlightened response.

What has me confused is that;

- my TM is set to backup everything
- I understand that osx does maintenance jobs towards 0200
- there are incoming emails
- there are other calendar triggered events
- there are iMessages

=> how is it that these other events do not generate changes in the file system; hence a new snapshot

In a previous replay, you mentioned you had woken your computer from sleep. If your computer is sleeping, no activities are going and no activities includes ni backups.

When you wake up the computer it checks mail, etc. And yes it triggers a backup, after all files probably had changes between the last backup and when you slept the computer.

 

[aicul]

My very old sunflower iMac running on SL wakes from sleep and the last backup was done about an hour ago (or less depending).

Do I understand that ML is not capable of collecting emails and doing backups when I don't need it, but suddenly decides to catch up wasted time when I decide to look at my calendar first thing in the morning, indirectly giving me sluggish response ???

that can't be ?

----------

If you haven't fixed this problem:

Search for com.apple.backupd in the console. Should help debug this.

/Applications/Utilities/Console.app

Tried this and a "blank" output is generated.

But what should I be looking for ?

----------

did some googling and found this http://useyourloaf.com/blog/2012/08/09/keeping-mountain-lion-awake.html

Guess Apple misunderstood that the notion of Power-Nap should also apply to desktop iMacs... (powernap is described here : http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5394

 

[satcomer]

My very old sunflower iMac running on SL wakes from sleep and the last backup was done about an hour ago (or less depending).

Do I understand that ML is not capable of collecting emails and doing backups when I don't need it, but suddenly decides to catch up wasted time when I decide to look at my calendar first thing in the morning, indirectly giving me sluggish response ???

that can't be ?

----------



Tried this and a "blank" output is generated.

But what should I be looking for ?

----------

did some googling and found this http://useyourloaf.com/blog/2012/08/09/keeping-mountain-lion-awake.html

Guess Apple misunderstood that the notion of Power-Nap should also apply to desktop iMacs... (powernap is described here : http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5394

Go ahead and ignore me, goodbye!

 

[aicul]

Go ahead and ignore me, goodbye!

Dear Satcomer

I had no intention of ignoring you, but your reply involved the use of third party software which - in my eyes - is a work-around to a failed feature of ML OSX.

Not to say your response would not have worked, but it would not have introduced powerNap.

I now see that Mavericks has powernap, hopefully resolving my issue without the need for third party software.

thanks anyway

 

[ammusk]

Tried this and a "blank" output is generated.

But what should I be looking for ?

Sorry. Instead of searching you should create a new system log query.

In Console, goto File -> New System Log Query

Once you create this log query, you should be able to view it by selecting it in the sidebar under System Log Queries.

These logs should help you understand what's going on with Time Machine.

If in doubt, reply with a screenshot of the logs.

 

[Big Stevie]

aicul, sorry I cant help, but how did you get the American flag on your toolbar please?

 

[aicul]

aicul, sorry I cant help, but how did you get the American flag on your toolbar please?

It actually lets you select keyboards and their layout.

Go to preferences/Language & text/Input Sources and tick "Show Input menu in the menu bar"

Obviously the keyboard you have selected will appear.

 

[ammusk]

It actually lets you select keyboards and their layout.

Go to preferences/Language & text/Input Sources and tick "Show Input menu in the menu bar"

Obviously the keyboard you have selected will appear.

Doesn't display a flag in Mavericks though. Just an icon.

 

[Big Stevie]

It actually lets you select keyboards and their layout.

Go to preferences/Language & text/Input Sources and tick "Show Input menu in the menu bar"

Obviously the keyboard you have selected will appear.

Brilliant, thanks. Done it

Im on ML, so if I upgrade to Mavericks do I lose the flag?

 

[satcomer]

Brilliant, thanks. Done it

Im on ML, so if I upgrade to Mavericks do I lose the flag?

I didn't loose mine when went to the 10.9 upgrade.

 

[aicul]

These logs should help you understand what's going on with Time Machine.

If in doubt, reply with a screenshot of the logs.

I tried as indicated, double checked the query and ... BLANK output.

Doubt this is normal ?

 

[ammusk]

I tried as indicated, double checked the query and ... BLANK output.

Doubt this is normal ?

Initiate another time machine backup and check if the logs appear in the query.

The older backup logs may have been deleted if they were too old / system cleaning.

 

[aicul]

Okay tried that and still an empty Console output as shown in the figure